Heater or furnace.



No. 674,529. Patented ma 2|, 19m.

H. WEBER 8., c. M. JEWETT.

HEATER 0B FURNACE.

(No Model.)

d i fi Wzeaaea UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

HENRY WEBER AND CHARLES M. JEWETT, OF PEKIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO JAMES A. EDDS, OF SAME PLACE.

HEATER OR FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,529, dated May 21, 1901. Application filed April 26, 1900. $erial No. 14,417; (No model.) I

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that We, HENRY WEBER and CHARLES M. J EWETT, citizens of the United States, and residents of Pekin, in the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Heaters or-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

It is desirable for many uses and purposes to have a dry heat of great intensity; and the object of this invention is to construct a heater or furnace by means of which a dry heat of a high degree can be secured and practically applied in use; and the invention coni5 sists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing two arrangements of applying the invention to use are illustrated, and the figure is a sectional elevation showing the heater or furnace of the invention in its application for use as a means for drying barrels.

The heater or furnace is designed or intend- 2 5 ed to burn gas, either natural or coal gas or carbureted gas or vapor. The furnace proper is formed with a fire pot or chamber A, preferably circular in cross-sectionand made of cast or sheet iron or other suitable material and open in thearrangement shown at both top and bottom, so as to be, in effect, an openended cylindrical shell. The fire pot or chamber is surrounded by a shell or wall A, also of cast or sheet iron or other suitable mate- 5 rial. and circular in cross-section, leaving a space a between it and the fire pot or chamber, which space serves as a preventive against a too great radiation of heat from the fire pot or chamber, and, if desired, may be filled with asbestos, mineral wool, or other non-conductor of heat. The fire pot or chamber is connected at its bottom with the exterior shell or wall by a plate or other suitable means of supporting it in place, and below the plate and between it and the bottom of the outer shell or casing is a chamber a.

A burner B is entered into the lower end of the fire pot or chamber and nearly fills the diameter thereof. This burner may be of the form shown, with a rounded top provided with slits or tips for the passage of the gas to be ignited and consumed in the fire pot or chamber. The fire pot or chamber above the burner is to be filled with fire-brick or other refractory material I), capable of sustaining an intense heat without deterioration and of throwing off such heat for the uses hereinafter described. The burner is supplied with gas through a pipe 0, which receives its supply from a pipe 0, leading from any source of supply, and the pipe 0 is provided with a regulating-valve c, by means of which the supply to the burner can be regulated as required. An air supply pipe D is entered into the chamber a beneath the burner and receives a supply of, preferably, compressed air from a pipe D, leading from any suitable source of supply, such as an air-compressor or a compressed-air reservoir, and the pipe D is provided with a regulating-valve d, by

means of which the supplyofair through the pipe can be regulated required. The air is projected into the chamber a and passes therefrom through the open bottom of the fire pot or chamber A around the burner B and furnishes the necessary amount of air to support and increase the combustion and heat of the gas, enabling the gas to be brought to a high degree of heat, and thereby produce a dry heat of great intensity.

The fire pot or chamber and its surrounding shell or wall and the lower ends of the gas and air pipes leading to the fire pot or chamber are locatedin a setting E, of any suitable material, and this setting above the fire pot or chamber and its surrounding wall or shell is provided with a combustion-chamber E, having, as shown, an'outwardly and upwardly flaring wall or side, so as to furnish a combustion-chamber of a greater diameter at the top than at the bottom. On the top of the setting around the combustion-chamber is a plate E from which depends a central conical-shaped deflector e, and the body of the plate around the central deflector is provided with a series of openings e for the'passage of the flame and heat. The deflector is located centrally in line with the fire-pot or combustion chamber and operates to deflect the flames and heat on every side to pass up through the openings or passages e, radiating from the center into the heating-chamber or the interior of the article to be heated or dried. The parts so far described constitute the heater or furnace proper, and in use gas is admitted through the pipe 0 in regulated quantities to the burner B, where it is to be ignited, and air is admitted through the pipe D in regulated quantities to the chamber a to pass up around the burner and supply the necessary amount of oxygen for combustion and to give any degree of heat desired, the amount of gas and the amount of air so supplied being regulated by the valves in the respective pipes. The ignited gas burns in the fire pot or chamber A under the conditions of oxygen-supply best adapted for combustion and communicates heat to the refractory material in the fire pot or chamber, and the heat products and the flame pass from the fire pot or chamberin to the combustion-chamber and from thence are deflected by the deflector e to pass outwardly and upwardly through the radial openings or passages 6 into the heat-receiving chamber or article to be operated upon by the heat. It will thus be seen-that the heat can be regulated as required for the use intended and can be brought to a degree of intensity by which a dry heat will be secured which will not be destructive after it leaves the combustion-chamber and which will produce a heating or drying efiect on wooden articles without blistering, burning, browning, or scorching.

The heater or furnace is to be applied and used for various purposes and in various ways.

The heater or furnace of our invention is designed more especially for use in the production of a dry heat of a high degree of intensity and is especially applicable, among other purposes, for use in drying barrels, and means for this purpose are illustrated in the figure of the drawing. A casing or cylinder F, having its upper end closed by a suitable cover, is arranged to be placed on the plate E so as to surround the openings from the combustion-chamber. This casing or cylinder is of a diameterand height sufficient to receive within its interior and wholly inclose the barrel. As shown, itis provided on opposite sides with slides f to slide on the pipes or tubes 0 and D,so that such pipes or tubes furnish the guides for raising and lowering the casing or cylinder. A cross-piece G is located between the two pipes O and D and secured to each in any suitable manner, and a second crosspiece G is also located between these pipes and secured to each of them in any suitable manner at a sufficient height to serve as a stop for the casing when it has been raised A rope or cable 9 is attached to the cover of the casing or cylinder F and run over a pulley g, mounted on the cross-piece G, and to the other end of this cord or cable is attached a weight g which serves as a connterpoise for the casing or cylinder, so as to facilitate the raising and lowering thereof.

In use a formed barrel H, without the heads,

is placed over the combustion-chamber, resting on the plate E and having its interior in communication with the heat and flame passages e. The casing or cylinder, which has been raised into the position shown on the right hand of the figure of the drawing to permit of the placing of the barrel in position, is lowered, so as to have the barrel within its interior. as shown on the left hand of the figure. The gas and air are admitted to the fire pot or chamber and the gas ignited, producing a heat, as hereinbefore described, and the dry heat is projected into the interior of the barrel, and owing to the dry nature of the heat and the smokeless condition produced by the perfect combustion of the gas from the supply of oxygen the drying out of the barrel is effected without any blistering, burning, scorching, overheating, smoking, blackening, or otherwise injuring the interior of the barrel, leaving such interior perfectly dry and in a condition to be coated or otherwise treated according to the use for which the barrel is intended.

The heater or furnace, it will thus be seen, produces a condition of heat which enables a barrel to be thoroughly and effectually dried without any injurious effects from the heat or the flames, and the heat can be regulated and tempered as required by regulating the supply of gas and air to the burner and the fire pot or chamber.

The heater or furnace, while illustrated in connection with means for drying barrels, is not intended to be confined to that use, as it is of a nature to be used in any place where a dry intense heat is a necessity or is required to do the work, and the invention in showing the heater or furnace in connection with a barrel-drier is merely for the purpose of illustrating how such heater or furnace can be used in connection with the operation of drying barrels and not for the purpose of having the use of the heater confined in its application to drying barrels, and its application and use for drying barrels are not herein claimed specifically, as they are to form the subjectmatter of a separate application.

We claim- 1. In a gas-burner, the combination of a fire pot or chamber open at top and bottom, a shell or wall surrounding the fire pot or chamber having a space between the two closed at the bottom and open at the top, a burner located in the open bottom or lower end of the fire pot or chamber with a space or opening between the periphery of the burner and the fire pot or chamber, a valvecontrolled gas pipe supplying gas to the burner, and a pipe supplying air for the support of combustion to the fire pot or chamber through the space or opening around the burner, substantially as described.

2. In a gas-burner, the combination of a fire pot or chamber open at top and bottom, a shell or wall surrounding the fire pot or chamber and having a space adapted to receive a non-conductor of heat between the fire pot or chamber and the inclosing Wall, a burner located in the open bottom or lower end of the fire pot or chamber with a space or opening between the periphery of the burner and the fire pot or chamber, a valve-controlled gaspipe supplying gas to the burner, and a pipe supplying air for the support of combustion to the fire pot or chamber through the opening or space around the burner, substantially as described.

3. In a gas-burner, the combination of a fire pot or chamber open at top and bottom, a shell or wall surrounding the fire pot or chamber, a chamber below the fire-pot and within the outer shell or wall and into which the fire pot or chamber opens at the bottom, a burner located in the open bottom or lower end of the fire pot or chamber with a space or opening between the periphery of the burner and the fire pot or chamber, a valve-controlled gaspipe supplying gas to the burner, and a pas-- sage or pipe delivering outside air to the chamber below the fire-pot for the supplied air to pass upward through the space or opening around the burner and enter and support combustion in the fire pot or chamber, substantially as described.

4. In a gas-burner, the combination of a fire pot or chamber open at top and bottom, a shell or wall surrounding the fire pot or chamber, a burner located in the open bottom or lower end of the fire pot or chamber with a space or opening between the periphery of the burner and the fire pot or chamber, a valvecontrolled gas pipe delivering gas to the burner, an air passage or pipe supplying outside air to the fire pot or chamber through the space or opening around the burner, and a setting for the fire pot or chamber, the outer wall or casing and the delivery ends of the gas and air supply pipes, substantially as'described.

5. In a gas-burner, the combination of a fire pot or chamber open at top and bottom, a shell or wall surrounding the fire pot or chamber, a burner located in the open bottom or lower end of the fire pot or chamber with a space or opening between the periphery of the burner and the fire pot or chamber, a valvecontrolled gas pipe delivering gas to the burner, a valve-controlled air-pipe supplying air under pressure to the fire pot or chamber through the space or opening around the burner, a setting for the fire pot or chamber, the outer wall or casing, and the delivery ends of the gas and air supply pipes, a combustion-chamber above the fire pot or chamber within the setting, a deflector in central line with the fire pot or chamber, and a heating-chamber receiving the products of heat and the flame from the combustion-chamber, substantially as described.

6. In a gas-burner, the combination of a fire pot or chamber open at top and bottom, a shell or wall surrounding the fire pot or chamber, a burner located in the open bottom or lower end of the fire pot or chamber with a space or opening between the periphery of the burner and the fire pot or chamber, a valvecontrolled gas pipe supplying gas to the burner, a valve-controlled air-pipe supplying air under pressure to the fire pot or chamber through the space or opening around the burner, a setting supporting the fire pot or chamber and its surrounding shell or wall and the delivery end of the gas and air supply pipe, a combustion-chamber in the set-' 

